The town was originally laid out into 53 shares which were sold at public auction in 1738. 300 acres in the southeastern part of town was deeded to Yale College by the state. The going price of land purchase at the time was about twenty cents per acre.

The first meeting of the proprietors was held at Hartford in September of 1738. John Hall, was chosen moderator, and Timothy Collins, clerk. Samuel Messenger was appointed surveyor and a tax of 26 shillings was levied on each proprietor to defray to the expenses of laying out the lots. Joseph Allen was appointed tax collector.

The first settler in Cornwall was Mr. Peter Eastman, who came in 1738. Up to 1740 the town consisted of probably no more than 40 log homes. Influential citizens among the early settlers included those of the Douglas, Wadsworth and Rogers families.

History of Litchfield County, Connecticut, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, J. W. Lewis & Co., Philadelphia, 1881.